The thermometer says 98*, I think it's summertime

Rhia was really excited about her house...

I don't even really know where to begin, as it's been a good long time since I updated this, and so much has changed.  I think the biggest event of the summer is that we bought a house in Ellensburg and moved back, so we've been incredibly busy doing whatever projects we can come up with (because we can!) and adjusting to being back in a small town.  Thus far we're doing really well.  Al is teaching Summer Quarter at Central, and I'm enjoying summer vacation and hanging out with Rhia.  I'll be teaching 6th grade come this fall, which is approaching much more quickly than I expected it to.

Rhia is just doing amazingly well.  The move was a big adjustment, but she loves having a big yard to play in (that's not full of slugs and moss), and we go for walks every night to visit the horses down the road.  She's transitioned into a big-girl bed without much fuss, and we're working on the whole potty training thing.  She is sassy and disturbingly smart.  Her coolest new trick is "reading" us one of her books.  She has the whole book memorized, and will go through the whole thing with anyone who will let her.  She'll be starting at a new daycare this fall, a few days a week in the preschool room, because the two-year-old room was a bit too slow-paced for her when we checked it out.  We're pretty proud of our smarty pants.  She's started to ask us questions about things, like "what was that?" and she loves to help cook and measure out things--especially for pancakes.  We're pretty sure she's a lefty, like her mama, it seems to be the hand her crayons live in.  She's started to get really into pretend play, which is pretty cute.  She's pushing a lot of boundaries and testing us quite a bit, which is not as cute.  yay for the terrible twos.

                                               It's hot in Ellensburg...we eat a lot of popsicles. 

                                                                  Pretty, but devious.

                                                        Picking wildflowers in the mountains.

                                                                    Our little family.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!